Not Applicable.
Not Applicable.
1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to business forms having integrated, removable labels and/or fold-over card intermediates, and having a receptacle for incorporating articles such as photographs into the cards or labels.
2. Introduction
The use of business forms with integrated information-carrying cards and labels has risen greatly in recent years as businesses and consumers realize the inherent convenience and capabilities of these products. One capability is the inclusion of photographs within either a form or card.
The growing use of integrated paper systems has not been entirely consistent with the trend in business to become more ecologically minded. Many businesses now have turned their attention to making sure that their consumer mailings and other advertisements are recyclable once they have served their purpose. Unfortunately, many of the prior art integrated form products do not allow for standard recycling of the waste produced by such forms.
As used herein, and as commonly understood in the industry, integrated form and label systems include those in which part of the form itself may become part of a label, or a card. Such systems may also incorporate articles like photographs into a final product like a card or label or into intermediate steps. Such products have proven very beneficial in recent years in part because they allow for relatively convenient end user processing, like scanning, printing through laser printers, copiers, impact printers and the like.
However, the existing products exhibit numerous limitations overcome by the present invention. For example, the transfer tape, die cut type of integrated label disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,379,573 to Lomeli involves the application of transfer tape to the backside of a form and die cutting the integrated label from the front surface of the form. These types of labels have the advantages of being a relatively thin lamination and allowing rapid mass production of the forms. Yet in use, it can be seen that the top surface of the label is opaque and has adhesive over its entire back surface. And the remainder of the form cannot be recycled because it contains non-recyclable release materials. Many variations have been made on these types of transfer labels, including the types using a multi-layer label stock as opposed to the basic transfer tape, as exemplified by U.S. Pat. No. 5,637,369 to Stewart. Nevertheless, this type of integrated label requires the addition of some type of label stock to the back of the form, a die cut through the front of the form to create the label, and some type of release material in the label stock which is left behind on the form when the label is removed.
Another type of label well known in the industry involves the use of a printable patch releasably adhered to the surface of a form and then peeled off in use to be attached to a substrate. These types of labels are not actually integrated labels because no portion of the form becomes part of the label. Thus, the patch material used for these products is a relatively thick (when compared to a transfer tape or similar liner), opaque, and printable stock usually of 50 to 70 pound weight. The labels have the advantage of being relatively thinxe2x80x94although thicker the transfer type labels described abovexe2x80x94but have the significant disadvantages of not having the support of a portion of the more substantial form layer integrated into the label. Also, since the label is really just an opaque piece of paper stock with adhesive on the underside, it does not allow the user to see through any portion of the label to the surface of the underlying form.
Integrated fold-over cards are similar to integrated labels in that they are basically an integrated label with a lamination or patch layer that can be folded in half onto itself to enclose or laminate a card created from a portion of the form layer. The relevant prior art integrated card articles, however, exhibit many of the same problems as the integrated label articles. Namely, they require the use of a release liner which remains on the form layer after removal of the card which prevents recycling of the form. For example, the integrated encapsulated card articles disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,662,976 to Popat and U.S. Pat. No. 5,318,326 to Garrison use a lamination layer and a lamination patch, respectively. Both teach and require the use of a release agent which remains on the form after removal of the card, thus preventing the recycling of the form. In addition, the articles taught by both patents necessitate the die cutting of the lamination or patch layerxe2x80x94usually a thin polyester or plastic materialxe2x80x94which leaves behind some of this material upon removal of the card from the form, again hampering the recycleability of the form. Finally, the requirement for die cutting through the lamination layer of the prior art fold-over cards significantly increases the cost and complexity to manufacture these articles since extremely accurate dies with limited life spans must be used.
Another useful capability of such paper form and card systems is the ability to incorporate articles such as photographs into the form, label or card at both intermediate steps and in the final end use. Many users find it useful to scan forms, or file them, after adding information to it, which may include not only printed information, but handwritten information and photographs. For example, the sponsor of a conference would find it useful to incorporate into a form a photograph of a conference participant, scan the form to retain an electronic memory of it, file the form hard copy until the conference, and finally issue it to the conference attendee, who may wish to sign it and then remove an id card and/or the photograph from the form and use a patch layer to make an integrated or fold over label or card to use at the conference. For scanners as well as printers, the thickness of the form can present problems with peeling or jamming.
It is to address these problems and otherwise accommodate uses desired by consumers that the present invention was developed.
The present invention provides a thin recyclable business form with an integrated label and/or card intermediate which is relatively quick and inexpensive to mass produce and convenient to employ by the end user. This is accomplished by the fact that once the label and card intermediate are removed from the business form, the form is devoid of silicone or other release materials and is therefore completely recyclable. Moreover, when glassinexe2x80x94a crushed, transparent paper productxe2x80x94is used for the patch layer of the invention, the label and the card intermediate themselves are also recyclable.
The present invention provides a thin form which is easy to manufacture and store while allowing for visible pre-printing of the form, label and card as well as end user laser printing, photocopying or even handwriting thereon. Specifically, the present invention requires that only one laminae be adhered to the form and it does not require the use of release material of any kind whether in liner, layer or coating form. Moreover, the invention does not require die-cutting of the thin plastic lamination layer to construct the articles, rather it requires only die cutting into the form layer. This alone translates directly into higher production speeds for the finished article and approximately five times greater die life on dies that are much less expensive than those required to cut the thin patch material. Also, since the card and label are removable from the front of the form, their use by the consumer is simpler and more intuitive than some of the prior articles which remove from the back of the forms.
The present invention is a business form with an integrated label and/or fold-over card intermediate. The basic form comprises a form layer having top and bottom surfaces and a periphery, at least one die cut through the top and bottom surfaces within the periphery of the form layer which defines at least one portion of the form layer within the die cut, and a patch layer. The patch layer has a periphery and top and bottom surfaces with the bottom surface of the patch layer adhesively but removably secured to the top surface of the form layer over the entire die cut and the entire form layer portion by a layer of repositionable, peelable adhesive. The adhesive layer has a greater affinity for the bottom surface of the patch layer than the top surface of the form layer.
In a first embodiment, the patch layer, adhesive layer and form layer portion comprise a label. As a result of the affinity of the adhesive, when the label is removed from the form, the portion of the adhesive layer that is not between the patch layer and the portion of the form layer is exposed and stays adhered to the bottom surface of the patch layer. Of course, the portion of the adhesive layer which is between the patch layer and the portion of the form layer stays adhered to both the bottom surface of the patch layer and the top surface of the form layer portion upon removal of the label.
Alternatively, in a second embodiment, the patch layer, adhesive layer and form layer portion comprise an integrated fold-over card intermediate. More specifically, the form with integrated fold-over card intermediate comprises a form layer having top and bottom surfaces and a periphery, at least one die cut through the top and bottom surfaces of the form layer within the periphery of the form layer defining at least one portion of the form layer within the die cut, and a patch layer having two halves, a periphery and top and bottom surfaces. The two halves of the patch layer may be divided by a line of perforations to ease the folding of the patch layer to form the completed card.
The bottom surface of the first half of patch layer is secured to the top surface of the form layer over the entire die cut and the entire form layer portion by a repositionable, peelable adhesive layer. The bottom surface of the second half of the patch layer is secured to the top surface of the form layer by the adhesive layer over neither the die cut nor the form layer portion.
As in the label embodiment, the adhesive layer has a greater affinity for the bottom surface of the patch layer than the top surface of the form layer such that when the fold-over card intermediate is removed from the form layer, the portion of the adhesive layer that is not between the patch layer and the form layer portion is exposed and stays adhered to the bottom surface of the patch layer. Once removed from the form layer, the fold-over card intermediate can be folded in half, thus securing the two halves of the patch layer together by the adhesive layer and enclosing the form layer portion between the folded halves of the patch layer.
The present invention also accommodates insertion of articles within the form, label or card at intermediate steps in the use of the paper form system. The present invention allows for a portion of the form within a dye cut, or a subsection of it, to be removed, thereby exposing a shallow well at the bottom of which the patch layer""s adhesive is exposed. Into this well may be placed and adhered an outside article, such as a barcode card, a hologram, momento or, most commonly, a photograph. Creating such a well and filling it with an article such as a photograph allows for the top surface of the inserted photograph to be approximately even with the top surface of the form circumscribing it. Accordingly, the form and patch assembly with the photograph inserted in the well may be smoothly run through roller type scanners and through printers. After saving an electronic version of the form with the inserted photograph, the even surface of the combination allows for easy filing of the hard copy for either temporary or permanent storage. When the time comes for the final use, the photograph may be pushed through the well, either alone or along with a portion of the form layer within the dye cut A matching complimentary second portion of the form layer may be included, or not. The patch layer, once removed from the form, may be made into a label or card with the article or photograph from the well and/or with form layer portions. As before, the fold over patch is folded over to encapsulate a form layer portion with a photograph, a photograph alone, or a photograph back-to-back with the matching form layer portion. In any case, the form, as above, may be refiled for storage without any obtrusive adhesive remaining on it.